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WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina -- Earl “The Pearl” Monroe says he’ll never forget the best championship he ever won.
“There’s no doubt that title we won at Winston was my highlight,” said Monroe, the leader of Winston-Salem State’s march to the Division II national championship in the 1966-67 season. “You know why it was so special? It was special because of the guys with me and the guy coaching us (the late Clarence ‘Big House’ Gaines).”
Monroe, now 72, won an NBA championship with the New York Knicks in 1973. But his best memories in the game of basketball came his senior season when the Rams went 31-1 on their way to the school’s lone national championship.
That it’s been 50 years is something that Monroe says he knows all too well.
“My knees tell me it’s definitely been 50 years,” he said by telephone recently from his home in New York.
Those aching knees and Monroe are expected to be on hand in February in Winston-Salem when an athletic fundraiser will be held to highlight the anniversary of that special season. Monroe and the late Cleo Hill, two of the most dynamic players in school history, will also have their numbers retired again.
GAMBRILLS, Maryland -- The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA), Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC), Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) and all other HBCU football standouts -- past and present -- will have the opportunity to showcase their talents for Canadian Football League and Arena Football League scouts at a free agent tryout sponsored by Supreme Sports and Entertainment. The tryout is set for Jan, 21, 2017 in Gambrills, Maryland (Anne Arundel County) at the API Training Center. Representatives from the Montreal Alouettes and Saskatchewan Roughriders of the CFL, and representatives from the AFL's Tampa Bay Storm are set to be on hand. Various strength and agility drills will take place. Cost to attend is $100 if you register online, and $140 at the door. Interested parties can sign up at http://www.supremese.com/wp/event. . For more information, contact info@supremese.com Canadian Football League Tryout Informational Flyer
JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri -- Lincoln head football coach Steven Smith announced four additions to his staff.
Jefferson City native Phil Pitts has joined the Blue Tigers as the defensive coordinator while his brother Andy will be the defensive backs coach. Rodricel Williams has joined the program as the special teams coordinator and running backs coach while Damien Goosby is the new defensive line coach.
Phil Pitts was the head coach at Helias High from 2011-2014, winning four district championships while posting a 40-15 overall record. Pitts coached 20 all-state players, including one All-American, and led the Crusaders to the state title game twice. Pitts, who was named the Missouri Sportswriters State Head Coach of the Year in 2012, additionally earned four district head coach of the year awards and guided the Crusaders to a top-10 finish in the state four times.
Following his tenure at Helias, Pitts joined the University of Missouri as a defensive analyst and helped the Tigers finish second in the nation in tackles for loss, seventh in both scoring defense and passing yards allowed and ninth in total defense. After the retirement of Missouri head coach Gary Pinkel, Pitts became the head coach at Central High in St. Joseph, Mo., and coached 16 all-conference players, including the conference player of the year, this fall.
Andy Pitts spent this fall as a defensive backs assistant at Northwest Missouri and, on Saturday (Dec. 17), helped the Bearcats win the NCAA Division II national title. Pitts coached with his brother at Helias from 2011-14, serving as the defensive coordinator for a program that set single-season records for sacks (44) and interceptions (22). Over the course of three of those seasons, the Crusaders' defense forced at least one turnover in 33-straight games. Pitts additionally served as the cornerbacks coach at St. Thomas in 2015, helping the program finish with a 14-1 record.
Williams has four years of experience coaching in Tennessee and Florida, including serving as an assistant as ASA Miami in 2015. Williams helped the Silver Storm post an 8-2 record that included five shutouts. Williams previously was a head coach with the Green Dot Charter Schools in Memphis, Tenn.
Goosby spent the last two seasons coaching the defensive line with Smith at Albany State, and directed a unit that led the SIAC, and finished ranked in the top-10 nationally, in each season. Goosby coached a two-time All-American and helped Albany State finish third in the conference in sacks and fourth in rushing defense.
Dan Carr, Assistant AD for Media Relations LINCOLN UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS
TUSKEGEE, Alabama | First year head coach Reginald Hollins released the 2017 Tuskegee University baseball schedule tonight, a schedule that features 25 home games that will be played at Montgomery's historic Paterson Field.
Tuskegee opens the 2017 campaign at home with a doubleheader, before playing four of their first seven games at home. The Golden Tigers open at home February 3 against Selma University in a doubleheader, before hitting the road to face Clark Atlanta University (February 4) in a doubleheader and the University of Montevallo (February 8). The team returns home for a doubleheader against Virginia State University (February 11) before hitting the road for nine consecutive games.
The road trip starts with a neutral site doubleheader against Eastern New Mexico University (February 13) at the Home Plate Baseball Facility in Atlanta. The trip continues with a three-game stint in Miami (Fla.) against Barry University taking place February 17-18, and concludes with a doubleheader against Concordia University (February 21) and Paine College (February 25).
The road trip ends when the Golden Tigers host Montevallo to open the month of March, on the first, before playing a doubleheader at Selma (March 3) and a single game at Columbus State University (March 8).
A modest three-game home stand that spans three days begins March 11 with a doubleheader against Stillman College, followed by a game against Georgia Southwestern State University (March 14).
Following a three-game series, opening Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) play, on the road at Morehouse College (March 18-19), the Golden Tigers return home for a doubleheader against Concordia-Selma (March 21) and then hit the road for another SIAC series at Kentucky State University (March 25-26).
The Golden Tigers return home after their series with Kentucky State for their longest home stand of the season – a nine-game stand beginning with Rust College in a doubleheader on March 29. The stay at home with an SIAC series against Miles College (April 1-2), highlighted by their annual Breast Cancer Awareness Day on April 1 at 12 noon. The series continues with a single game against Columbus State (April 5) and an SIAC series against Spring Hill College (April 8-9).
The final road swing of the season features games at Georgia Southwestern (April 11) and an SIAC series against LeMoyne-Owen College (April 14-15). The final road game of the season takes place in Montgomery as the Golden Tigers face Auburn University Montgomery on the east side of Montgomery on April 18.
Tuskegee closes the regular season with a six-game home stand against Lane College (April 22-23) and Benedict College (April 29-30), with Senior Day being celebrated in the final game of the regular season on April 30 at 1 pm.
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LYNCHBURG, Virginia -- The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) will hold its indoor track & field championships at Liberty’s new facility Feb. 12 to 13. The Division II conference decided to move its championships from North Carolina on Sept. 30 in opposition to the state’s House Bill 2, which is commonly referred to as “the bathroom law.”
Construction crews were hard at work on a chilly Thursday afternoon when Brant Tolsma led a tour of Liberty University’s new indoor track & field facility.
Tolsma, who is in his 31st season as the Flames’ track & field coach and has won 100 conference championships during his tenure, knew exactly where everything was supposed to go. Each detail was important, right down to the flooring the athletes will walk on in the team camp area perched on the second floor.
Tolsma stopped and glanced at the work underway. The 200-meter track sat in the middle of the first floor, its corners raised as high as they could go to showcase the hydraulic banking. To the other side of the facility, permanent seating was being finalized. Below those stands, a training facility was taking shape to enhance the student-athlete’s experience.
“It’s everything that we know to want at this time,” Tolsma said, “and it’s more than I ever dreamed Liberty would ever get. It’s pretty amazing.”
The university is moving the indoor track & field facility from Green Hall to a plush, $30-million complex underneath the LU monogram that will rival the other facilities in the nation that boast hydraulic banking.
When completed early next month, the 130,000-square-foot facility will feature about 1,500 permanent seats, a six-lane track, an eight-lane warm-up track below an elevated team area. It also will have accommodations for field events that can be held concurrently with track, as well as locker rooms, a coaches’ hospitality room, concession stands, training rooms and offices. CONTINUE READING
RICHMOND, Virginia — Dave Robbins misses basketball.
“I can’t help it, I do miss it.” said Robbins, who led tiny Virginia Union University in Richmond, Va. to three NCAA Division II national basketball championships in three different decades. The man called “The White Shadow” left coaching eight years ago. The first white coach in Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) history, Robbins amassed a 713-194 mark during a 30-year tenure.
He thinks about the sport constantly.
“It’s like someone who has been around horse racing all of their life,” said Robbins. “It’s a part of them. They miss the smell of the barn, the feel of the turf, the smell and feel of being around the horses. I’m a basketball coach. That’s what I did. I miss the smell of a gym. I miss seeing guys work hard to perfect their game and to work as a team. I miss it.
“As far as x’s and o’s are concerned, there’s no doubt that I could still coach. I’m not that far removed from the game. But it is a young man’s game. I realize that. The travel, the recruiting, it wears and tears on you. I don’t think I could deal with that. I’m 74 and that’s asking a lot of an old man.”
So these days, he spends a lot of time with his wife of 42 years, Bunny. He also spends a lot of time playing golf.
ITTA BENA, Mississippi — Mississippi Valley State was hanging fairly close with nationally ranked Michigan State earlier this year before Spartans' guard Miles Bridges took a pass, sprinted down the lane and threw down a vicious one-handed dunk over Jamal Watson.
After that, Michigan State cruised to a 100-53 win over the Delta Devils in one of their 14 consecutive road games to start the season. MVSU coach Andre Payne recalled how following the November game he took an upbeat approach to the drubbing.
Payne went around the locker room praising each player until he saw Watson. He couldn't help but grin.
"And guess what?" Payne said. "You'll get to be on SportsCenter tonight!"
The room burst into laughter. Two months of road games requires a little gallows humor, though Mississippi Valley coaches and players say the experience is often much more rewarding than demoralizing.
MVSU (0-13) and Texas Southern (4-9) are among a handful of lower-level Division I teams that lead a nomadic existence during non-conference play, traveling to play road games with guaranteed payouts.
WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina -- Earl “The Pearl” Monroe says he’ll never forget the best championship he ever won.
